Nikita Magaloff
Nikita Magaloff was one of the more interesting and charismatic keyboard figures of the twentieth century. Many of his recordings are still available and in modern sound; yet here was a man who was a friend of Rachmaninov, Prokofiev, from whom he took composition lessons, and Ravel, who was an enthusiastic admirer. Magaloff concertized with the most important conductors and orchestras of the day and at the most prestigious festivals. He also collaborated with the leading string players, like violinist Joseph Szigeti. Though Magaloff was born in Russia, he was cosmopolitan in outlook, with a broad repertory that favored Chopin: he played many all-Chopin concerts and had the distinction of being the first pianist to record all of Chopin's piano music. But his repertory also included Beethoven, Mendelssohn, Mozart, Brahms, Schumann, Liszt, Debussy, Ravel, Fauré, Prokofiev, Rachmaninov, Stravinsky, Scriabin, and numerous others. Many of Magaloff's recordings are available on Philips and Decca.
Magaloff was born in St. Petersburg, Russia, on February 8 (January 26, Julian, or old style), 1912. His family fled the Revolution when he was six, traveling first to Finland, then to the United States, and finally settling in Paris in 1922. Magaloff's first advanced studies were at the Paris Conservatory, where his chief teacher was Isidor Philipp.
It was in the 1920s in Paris that Magaloff met Prokofiev, Ravel, and Rachmaninov, composers whose music and influence figured prominently in his career. He also befriended Szigeti there, a man he credited with introducing him to a broad range of chamber music and whose daughter he would later marry.
While from the 1920s through the 1950s Magaloff was active in the concert hall and recording studio, his career seemed to take wing after 1960. This lift might have been due to the cessation of his teaching activities: from 1949 to 1959 he regularly held master classes at the Geneva Conservatory. But then perhaps part of Magaloff's late success owed something to the change in his style: he took more chances, displayed greater passion, and played, arguably, with more spirit.
Most of Magaloff's available recordings were made after 1960. He remained busy throughout the last three decades of his career, hardly slowing down even near the end: in the 1990-1991 season, he gave a six-concert series that covered nearly the complete Chopin output. He died in Vevey, Switzerland, of cancer on December 26, 1992.
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Tchaikovsky: Piano Concerto No. 1 in B-Flat Minor, Op. 23, TH 55 (Live)
Nikita Magaloff, Radio-Sinfonieorchester Stuttgart des SWR, Gunther Wich
Classical - Released by SWR Mediaservices GmbH on 26 Jun 2020
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Chopin: The Four Impromptus
Classical - Released by Past Classics on 1 Jul 2008
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Chopin: Sonata No. 3 in B minor, Op. 58
Classical - Released by Past Classics on 1 Jul 2008
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Rondeau à la Krakowiak pour piano et orchestre, Nikita Magaloff / Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks F Major, op. 14: Introduction: Andantino quasi allegretto, Allegro molto - Rondo: Allegro non troppo
Nikita Magaloff, Symphonieorchester Des Bayerischen Rundfunks
Symphonic Music - Released by Classico Ivano on 14 Nov 2014
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Chopin: Concerto pour piano No. 1 (Mono Version)
Nikita Magaloff, Roberto Benzi, Orchestre Lamoureux
Miscellaneous - Released by BNF Collection on 1 Jan 1962
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Récital Chopin (Mono Version)
Miscellaneous - Released by BNF Collection on 1 Jan 1952
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Nikita Magaloff plays Robert Schumann (Carnaval op. 9 · Faschingshwank aus Wien op. 26 · Arabesque op. 18)
Classical - Released by NAR International on 1 Apr 2022
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Chopin: Concerto pour piano No. 1 in E Minor, Op. 11 (Stereo Version)
Orchestre Lamoureux, Roberto Benzi, Nikita Magaloff
Miscellaneous - Released by BNF Collection on 1 Jan 1962
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Liszt: Piano Sonata, S. 178 (Mono Version)
Miscellaneous - Released by BNF Collection on 1 Jan 1952
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Schumann: Carnaval, Op. 9 - Liszt: 6 Paganini Studies (Mono Version)
Miscellaneous - Released by BNF Collection on 1 Jan 1962
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Schumann: Carnaval, Op. 9 (Mono Version)
Classical - Released by BNF Collection on 1 Jan 1952
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Chopin: 4 Impromptus (Mono Version)
Classical - Released by BNF Collection on 1 Jan 1957
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Haydn, Beethoven & Schumann: Pièces pour clavier (Mono Version)
Miscellaneous - Released by BNF Collection on 1 Jan 1962
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Grandes Épocas De La Música Clásica, Beethoven - Sonata Para Piano Nos. 17, No. 26 & No. 28
Classical - Released by SendClassic on 18 Mar 1994
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Grandes Épocas de la Música. Beethoven: Sinfonía No. 5 y Sinfonía No. 6
Orquesta Filarmónica Checa, Nikita Magaloff, Alexandre Sellier
Classical - Released by ClassicalPirosDigital on 8 Sep 2015
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Granados, E.: Goyescas, Book 1 / El Pelele (Magaloff) (1952)
Classical - Released by Naxos Classical Archives on 1 Jan 2000
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Milestones of a Piano Legend: Nikita Magaloff, Vol. 4
Nikita Magaloff, Wiener Symphoniker, Orchestre Lamoureux, Willem van Otterloo, Roberto Benzi
Classical - Released by Intense Media GmbH on 6 Sep 2019
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Milestones of a Piano Legend: Nikita Magaloff, Vol. 5
Classical - Released by Intense Media GmbH on 6 Sep 2019
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Milestones of a Piano Legend: Nikita Magaloff, Vol. 1
Classical - Released by Intense Media GmbH on 6 Sep 2019
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Milestones of a Piano Legend: Nikita Magaloff, Vol. 8
Classical - Released by Intense Media GmbH on 6 Sep 2019
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Milestones of a Piano Legend: Nikita Magaloff, Vol. 10
Nikita Magaloff, Ernest Ansermet, Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, Ernest Ansermet
Classical - Released by Intense Media GmbH on 6 Sep 2019
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo